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Lampard hails ‘fantastic’ Gerrard

Lampard will join New York City at the end of his loan spell with Manchester City while Gerrard ends his career-long association with Liverpool to join the LA Galaxy.

Gerrard plays his final game at Anfield on Saturday against Crystal Palace and Lampard had nothing but praise for the midfielder, who he has battled in the Premier League for over a decade and played alongside for England.

“We were in the England squad, as captain and vice-captain, at the last World Cup and I certainly respect him hugely – I always have,” Lampard said.

“But when you are going up against each other, you can kind of get caught up in that. I was a Chelsea man and he is Mr Liverpool.

“I had John (Terry) next to me, he had Jamie Carragher – it was one of those things. It was all healthy stuff but as you get older, you mellow slightly and you just respect him for what he’s done in his career.

“What a fantastic player he has been for Liverpool and England, and he’s a fantastic bloke. He’s a family man, I’ve always known him as a good lad and a great player.

“I think it’s great for us that we have both made the decision to go there. We’re at the back end of our careers – we know that – but we’re still very driven and we’ll want to do well.

“I’m pleased he is there. It’s great for the league, it’s great for us at this time in our lives to go and play there and I look forward to playing against him there.”

Watch Liverpool’s clash with Crystal Palace on Sky Sports 1 from 5:00pm on Saturday and see Lampard’s City face Swansea on Super Sunday – coverage starts on Sky Sports 1 at 12:30pm.